Mount Gretna: The Bather
The Bather
In my research for this piece, I came across a LNP article by Jack Brubaker (pen name: The Scribbler), published in 2021. In the article, Brubaker shared the story behind the four postcards pictured, all of which depict a young woman named Nell Pontz in (likely) the summer of 1900. My curiosity was piqued by both the family name (my married name) and the scandal that arose from these lovely pictures.
As Brubaker shared in his article, after Nell posed for the pictures, her father – a Lancaster businessman and Civil War veteran – was shocked and scandalized, and confiscated all of the pictures and publishing plates. He then stored them in his attic. It was only in 1965, when the Pontzes sold their home, that the new owners found these pictures and sent them out into the world. However, Nell was quite proud of her postcards and was known to steal them from the attic to send to her friends. These cards are still for sale at the Mount Gretna Area Historical Society. We are unsure of the connection of our surnames, but—honestly—I would love to have spunky Nell in our family’s genealogy!
By: Marian Pontz
